It really is strange to look back on the Celtics’ journey to their disappointing end in Game 6. So many setbacks and doubts. Even before those, it looked like the Celtics were flat out a bad team. Then came the turning point, a wave this team and city rode up until the Warriors ended things.
Where did it all go wrong for Celtics?
Well, the Celtics were just as responsible for the NBA Finals ending in six games instead of seven. They turned the ball over 23 times, and Jayson Tatum only scored 13 points in the most important game of his NBA career.
“It hurts,” Tatum said. “We all could have (done) things better. I feel like I could have done a lot of things better.”
But again, this finish makes sense for this team. At the start of the season, the Celtics had no direction, and everyone was doubting Tatum’s standing among the game’s best. In the end, they were all over the place, and Tatum didn’t step up.
“Being with this group, the things that we’ve overcome throughout the season to get to this point, just knowing how bad we wanted it and coming up short, it’s a terrible feeling,” Tatum said.
It doesn’t change the fact this one stings. The Celtics’ core has consistently been in contention on some level for a while now. This year, it was finally within reach. But once again, they seem to need the experience of losing before they can win. They’re not unique in that regard, although it doesn’t make it any less frustrating.
“Yeah, we fought through a lot of adversity in the beginning of the season,” Robert Williams said. “But, it don’t mean nothing anymore.”
As this team moves forward and puts 2021-22 behind them, they can’t lose the pain and frustration that stems from this experience. Not that they should dwell on it, but if they’re looking to grow and finally be the last team standing, this Celtics group needs to understand how much it hurts to go through losing in the NBA Finals — that way they’ll do everything they can to avoid this experience again.
“It’s going to hurt, and it’ll hurt for a while,” Ime Udoka said. “That stuff never goes away. … The biggest message was: Learn from this. Grow from it. Take this experience, and see there’s another level to get to.”
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